Former President George W. Bush urged the nation's leaders to debate immigration with compassion yesterday.

During his opening remarks Tuesday at a daylong conference on immigration and the economy, former President George W. Bush urged the nation’s leaders to debate immigration reform with compassion and kindness.

In a brief appearance at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Bush did not advocate for a specific solution. But his statements indicated he supports policies similar to those he championed during his presidency, when immigration reform was last debated in Congress.

“America can become a lawful society and a welcoming society at the same time,” Bush said at the event, which was organized by the George W. Bush Institute and the Federal Reserve Bank. “As our nation debates the proper course of action on immigration reform, I hope we do so with a benevolent spirit and keep in mind the contributions of immigrants.”

Those contributions include “new skills and new ideas,” he said, adding that immigrants “fill a critical gap in our labor market.

“Not only do immigrants help build the economy, they invigorate our soul,” he said at the gathering of students, scholars and economists.

Good advice from President Bush and advice that many in the Republican party will be listening to. Remember, Bush did very well with the Latino vote when he was running. You already see Republicans like Senator Marco Rubio and Senator-Elect Ted Cruz taking a more compassionate tone.

Bob Costas and Jason Whitlock continued their war on guns yesterday in hopes of sounding dumber than before. According to the Daily Caller:

“There are too many people in this country leaving home carrying a gun as if it’s the same thing as ‘don’t forget my wallet,’ ‘don’t forget my watch,’ ‘don’t forget my gun,’” Costas said. “And more often than not, this leads to bad things far more often than it leads to good things.”

What? Millions of Americans leave home everyday with a gun and nothing happens. There aren't millions or thousands of shootings everyday.

“I think guns have a place in our society that’s completely inappropriate for young people,” Whitlock replied. “It’s been defined that having a gun is the cool thing, it’s the appropriate thing to have. And I’m talking about professional athletes. Too many of them are carrying guns, and they’re reflective of this macho male society that’s too pervasive throughout our country.”

Costas implied sports athletes have never really needed to own firearms.

“I ask this question rhetorically: Can you give me an example, one example of a professional athlete — let’s confine it to sports — a professional athlete by virtue of having a gun was able to diffuse a potential violent or deadly situation? Was able to disarm someone who was doing innocent people harm?”

Who will Americans blame is the nation goes over the Fiscal Cliff? Come on, that should be an easy one to answer. According to CNN, Obama wins again.

Polls show that more Americans will blame Republicans, instead of Obama and Democrats, if there is no deal and the nation goes over the fiscal cliff.

A Washington Post/Pew Research Center survey released Tuesday put the margin at 53%-27% in citing Republicans or Obama. A CNN/ORC International poll released last week showed 45% would blame congressional Republicans compared to 34% who would blame Obama.

Of course! Obama and the Democrats know this as well and that is why they are in a win/win situation. If the Republicans cave on raising taxes, Obama wins. If they go over the cliff, Obama wins and the Republicans lose. The GOP continues to stink when it comes to selling a message.

These and many more topics coming up on today’s edition of The Chad Hasty Show. Tune in mornings 8:30-11am on News/Talk 790 KFYO, streaming online at kfyo.com, and now on your iPhone and Android device with the radioPup App. All guest interviews can be heard online in our podcast section after the show at kfyo.com.